


J Is For Jewellery

by SK_Kasai



Series: The A-Z of One Lucifer Morningstar [10]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), I mean just imagine two Tom Ellises running around, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Needs A Hug, Lucifer and Michael are Twins, Post-Devil Face Reveal to Chloe Decker, Post-Season/Series 04, Protective Chloe Decker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23531386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SK_Kasai/pseuds/SK_Kasai
Summary: "I'm fine, Detective." He laughed, shaking his head, "I just... Have you seen it?""It?""My ring." He confessed, his eyes scouring the bathroom as he began to fiddle with his diamond cufflinks, "I seem to have misplaced it."All this anxiety over some jewellery?"You look absolutely perfect with or without it." She smiled.Lucifer returned her smile, but it was strained. She noticed it immediately, wondering what she was missing.She was about to say something when he turned on his heel and left, presumably to continue his search for his ring.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Michael & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Moningstar
Series: The A-Z of One Lucifer Morningstar [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654774
Comments: 118
Kudos: 719





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was inspired by the brilliant dxtectiveluci, frckica and MintChocoPie. Enjoy!

"Detective!"

"Yes, Lucifer." She called back, searching for her favourite mascara, "I'm in the bathroom!"

Lucifer burst in within a few seconds, almost tripping in his haste to reach her.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked, frowning as she turned around to study him.

He was breaking some sort of law, prancing around looking like _that_ in a beautiful dark blue suit, a deep maroon, silky dress shirt, and a pocket square to match. His hair was already perfectly coiffed, all curls tamed and not a strand out of place. She'd gotten distracted with all that of course, almost missing the spark of panic in his eyes and the way that he was chewing on his lower lip.

Almost.

"I'm fine, Detective." He laughed, shaking his head, "I just... Have _you_ seen it?"

"It?"

"My ring." He confessed, his eyes scouring the bathroom as he began to fiddle with his diamond cufflinks, "I seem to have misplaced it."

All this anxiety over some jewellery? 

"You look absolutely perfect with or without it." She smiled.

Lucifer returned her smile, but it was strained. She noticed it immediately, wondering what she was missing.

She was about to say something when he turned on his heel and left, presumably to continue his search for his ring.

Chloe turned back to her make-up, biting her own lip in thought. In all her years of knowing Lucifer, he never took off that ring. She'd always thought that the ring itself was a bit strange, the onyx stone glowing to her eyes at time and appearing darker than midnight skies at others. She'd deduced that it must have held some sort of sentimental value to her partner. Either that or that it was some other aspect of Luciferness that she had not quite understood yet.

That was one her lead questions in life; Normal Luciferness or deep repressed trauma?

The two were incredibly correlated of course. "Luciferness", as they dubbed it, was a mix of Lucifer's non-human nature and rather traumatizing past. She loved it, annoying as it was at times. After all, it was _him ._ Although she could not pretend to be a hundred percent sure of many things, one of the things Chloe Decker was always certain about was how much she loved Lucifer Morningstar. Luciferness, baggage, and horrible puns included.

She finished her simple make-up routine with a speed and efficiency acquired from years of practice in the company of a little kid. Chloe collected her keys, phone, badge, and other necessities. Trixie had already taken the bus. She and Lucifer were running a bit late.

"Lucifer!" She called out, putting her shoes on, "Did you find it?"

"Ah... Not yet." Lucifer's voice came from Trixie's room.

She laced up her boots and sighed, walking over to him. She found him crouched by the bed, looking beneath it and under a few stuffed toys that had found their new home on the floor.

"I thought I might have somehow magically dropped it while I was waking up the little urchin this morning." He explain distractedly, lifting a shirt Trixie had left discarded on the floor before tossing it behind him and resuming his search, "It doesn't appear to be here though."

"When was the last time you saw it?" She asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Lucifer didn't seem to notice, too busy moving the nightstand aside to look in its place. That was a red flag.

"I'm not sure." He hesitated, "I could've have sworn that it was still in its customary place on my finger when we were watching that ridiculous movie last night...But I cannot be sure and... Ugh, we are running late." He groused, checking his watch.

"I'll help you look." Chloe offered.

"No, darling, I suppose it is best that we get going." Lucifer declared, "This is silly, as the spawn would say. It's just a ring. A piece of jewellery. An old memory. Nothing more and nothing less. It is about high time that I stop wearing it anyways."

"Lucifer-"

"Come on, Detective!" He grinned, sweeping past her, "Time to go. Murderer to solve, guilty culprits to punish, Douches to annoy."

He was out of the house and waiting for her by her cruiser before she could even get a word in.

Luciferness then?

_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

As the day wore on, Chloe became more and more certain that the whole thing was more than just Lucifer being Lucifer.

The case they had for the day was open and shut; crime of passion and a rather stupid ex-boyfriend as Lucifer had pointed out. ("I mean, Detective, seriously? Not even wearing gloves? Hiding the gun under his bed? He's almost too moronic to go to hell! Boring!")

It was quickly done with minimal interrogations and minimal driving around. Before lunch time, Chloe was sitting at her desk filling out their paper work and trying her hardest to not be distracted by her boyfriend.

The problem was that he wasn't even doing anything to distract her.

Lucifer was just staring at his hand, flexing his fingers as if he had just discovered that they could move. His dark eyes lingered on his middle finger, oddly naked now that there was no obsidian ring on it. He'd been lost in his own thoughts like that for the past ten minutes, not even noticing anything going on around him.

"Lucifer?"

He didn't say anything, poking the base his middle finger with the index finger of his other hand. She should have looked for the ring herself. Actually, if she'd known that its absence would have had such a profound effect on her partner, they could have skipped work to look for it or something.

"Lucifer!"

He seemed to startle, straightening up in his chair to look at her.

"Detective?" He breathed, blinking repeatedly, looking a weird mixture between guilty and dazed.

"Are you alright?" She asked, extending her hand towards him.

Lucifer looked at her outstretched hand as if he had no idea what to do with it. He frowned at it, head tilting in Luciferian gesture of confusion she knew (and found adorable). He seemed to snap out of his daze, taking her hand in his. He stared at their fingers, clasped together over her desk despite her usual regard for work place professionalism.

"I'm sorry we didn't look for your ring more." She sighed, "We can finish early and go find it?" She suggested.

Years of dismissing Lucifer and his "delusions" had led her to paying attention to the smallest of his quirks now. Nothing was too weird or too silly or too Lucifer anymore. They were in this together. Any problem of his was a problem of hers, regardless of her level of understanding of it.

"Detective, I stand by what I said earlier." He insisted, stroking her knuckles, "That ring is a relic of the past. It's about time that it stopped persisting into our present and our future."

She wanted to ask him what that meant. A relic of the past. An old memory. Usually, she tried to avoid such questions, knowing their devastating effect on him. Chloe imagined that they would reach a point in the future where he'd talk to her about his life before. That point was not yet though. Perhaps his recent return from hell was still too recent for both of them.

She just gave him a small smile, nodding to show her support and her understanding. Lucifer smiled back, genuine and dazzling. 

Maybe she was just exaggerating.

_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

Chloe was quick to realize that she was _not_ exaggerating.

It took her another few hours of watching Lucifer being lost and sad to send her within a few feet of her breaking point.

Watching him like that _hurt._

He was smiling most of the time of course. Joking and flirting and annoying people. Being Lucifer.

But he... he couldn't seem to let go of the spot where the ring usually was. His eyes were weary and just a bit too wide, his grins a bit strained around the edges and his shoulders slumped just the tiniest bit. Every time she looked at him, she couldn't help but have her heart break.

Why did the ring mean so much to him?

She was driving them back home a few hours later, eyes darting to check on Lucifer every few seconds or so, when Lucifer surprised her by volunteering an answer to the questions plaguing her mind.

"It's... My brother gave it to me, Detective." Lucifer whispered out of the blue, eyes fixed on his hands clasped tightly in his lap.

"Amenadiel?" She found herself asking.

"Michael." Lucifer corrected, grimacing when the name escaped his lips.

Michael. Sword of God. The archangel. Ah, of course. He was her boyfriend's brother. Sometimes, Chloe wondered if she had long since lost her sanity; perhaps this was some sort of long hallucination or a particularly strange dream.

"He... He was always better at handling the darkness than I was." Lucifer confessed after a few minutes of silence, "The primordial darkness, the emptiness and the coldness of creation before lighting up the stars... I was pathetic really; unable to deal with it when I was younger. Afraid. Dear old Dad kept telling me as much and he was right of course. Mum was too. I just couldn't stop though; it unsettled something deep within me, something that I couldn't fathom. I suppose that it was just the opposite of my nature and all I was. So, um... Michael, my brother, he... he made me that ring and gave it to me. He said that as long as he lived, then the ring would remain intact; apparently, it was a symbol of our bond. He said that I'd never be alone in the darkness like I feared so horribly because he would be there to fight it with me. The ring is our... bond. As brothers. His promise."

Lucifer was blushing by the end of his lengthy explanation, staring straight ahead and looking mortified by what he had said.

"It's silly I know-"

"It's not silly." She cut in, knuckles white, "It's not silly at all. We'll find it, Lucifer. Don't worry."

"I do not wish to find it." Lucifer sniffed, "Michael and I... we have not been brothers in millenia."

"You haven't seen him since you fell?" She repeated, horrified. They'd sounded close...

"No." Lucifer shook his head, "I haven't seen any of my brothers or sisters unless you count Amenadiel and... Uriel and Azrael that one time Daniel and I had to babysit that delinquent."

His lips thinned at the mention of his younger brother. Chloe opened her mouth to say something, to remind him that he had no choice, to comfort him, to... to do _something_ at least. However, she saw him visibly blocking the memories and she changed her words at the last second.

"No one else?"

"Nope." Lucifer shook his head again, "The only two I spent some time with recently were Amenadiel and Mum. Azrael was visiting Miss Lopez and we ended up having a conversation as a result. An odd, short one at that."

"Ella was going to die?" She exclaimed, glad that the car had not moved for the past five minutes. Traffic.

"No, no." He reassuered, "Miss Lopez was perfectly safe. Well, that day at least. Azrael is Miss Lopez's best friend."

Chloe tried to process that, remembering her friend telling her about a Rae-Rae. Were they the same?

Traffic began to move again. Lucifer returned to his pensive brooding. No one said a word all the way back home.

_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

The rest of the day went by uneventfully for the most part. 

Lucifer refused to look for the ring, repeating his previous claims about needing to let it go. He tried to convince her that he didn't care; that he had simply been overreacting. 

Chloe was having none of it of course. She searched around the house despite his protests, certain that it must be around here somewhere. Lucifer hadn't gone out last night.

"Detective, I've already looked around everywhere." He whined, watching her search between the cushions of the couch for what felt like the millionth time.

"Aren't you curious to see where it's gone?" She asked, re-ordering everything before moving to check under the coffee table.

"No, of course not!" Lucifer laughed, "I'm glad that I misplaced the ruddy thing. About time too."

"Lucifer..."

"Detective, truly." He sighed, getting up to wrap his arms around her, "I... I have you now. No sense in holding on to the past when the present and the future are far better."

"Lucifer..." She protested, shaking her head from where it was tucked under his chin.

"Detective, Michael and I haven't been brothers for eons." He sighed, "The feathered prick hasn't even tried to pop by to curse my name or something. I can't go visit him, being banished from the Silver City and all that. What's his excuse? He... he must truly hate me, as I've thought all this time."

"I love you." She whispered, tilting her head up to kiss him. Would that be enough?

"That's more than I've ever wanted or recieved." He grinned, pressing his forehead to hers, "I love you as well, Detective. Always."

"Do you really want to stop looking?"

"It is what I desire." He confirmed.

As she stared into his side, Chloe became sure that he was lying. He wasn't lying to her. Never to her. Lucifer was lying to himself; trying to convince himself that he was better off without his "bond" with his brother. She didn't understand the exact implications of Lucifer's explanation back in the car. She didn't need to. As far as she was concerned, Michael was just another asshole that she would punch if she ever had the chance to meet.

Lucifer was not perfect. He was childish, annoying, self-absorbed, and frustratingly ignorant of most emotional matters. However, no one deserved that and especially not him. Not when he still held on to that memory despite everything, despite all of those eons...

"I am no longer a child, Detective." He smiled.

"Hard to believe."

Lucifer laughed, "No use in holding onto that thing as if it were one of the spawn's bloody stuffed animals or something of the like. Not when I have you."

"I love you." She declared, "So much."

"And I you, Detective."

She cupped his face in her hand, pressing their lips together again.

"Mommy! Lucifer!" The front door slammed open, "I have something important to tell you!"

They broke away, Lucifer groaning and her giggling at his shenanigans.

"In the living room, monkey!"

Trixie ran in, giving them both a hug. To Lucifer's credit, he hardly flinched, patting Trixie on the head and allowing her to hug him for an extra few seconds. He was evolving so fast...

"I have something to tell you." Trixie informed them again, gulping, "I... I don't want you to get mad. It was for a good cause."

"Oooooh." Lucifer grinned, "Do go on, spawn. Did you kick another bully?"

Trixie gave him a small smile, hands in the pocket of her light blue hoodie. Chloe recognized the guilt.

"Better." Trixie nodded, "Or worse."

"How bad was it, urchin?" Lucifer frowned, "You're never this uncertain."

"You'll be mad." She sighed.

"Mad?" Lucifer laughed, "Why would I ever be mad at you?"

Trixie sighed again, pursing her lips. Her face was the epitome of guilt. Chloe waited, curious.

"Monkey?" She prompted when her daughter didn't say anything else.

She reached into the pocket of her hoodie, extracting something hidden within her tiny fist. When she unclenched her fist, both adults in the room were shocked to find a very familiar ring in her grasp.

"You… you stole my ring...?"

"I didn't steal it!" Trixie defended, handing it to him, "I borrowed it. I had to."

Lucifer immediately slipped it on his finger, shoulders slumping in relief. All his earlier words appeared to have been forgotten in spite of being sincere.

"Trixie, why did you take Lucifer's ring?"

"Yes, spawn, do tell." Lucifer snarled, "What the hell had gotten into you?"

"I _am_ sorry, Lucifer." Trixie promised, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "But, like I said before, it's for a good cause."

"A good cause?" Lucifer bristled, eyes glowing scarlet for just the fraction of a second.

"Lucifer!" Chloe admonished. He would never hurt her or Trixie of course, but Lucifer looked like he might lose it at any moment.

"It's okay mommy." Trixie assured, "I've seen his red eyes a million times. Lucifer _knows_ that they don't scare me."

"He shouldn't lose his temper though."

"Yes, brother." A voice said, its owner stepping into the room, "Do not be mad at Beatrice. This is, after all, my fault and my fault only."

Chloe blinked, trying to convince herself that she was not seeing double.

She looked between the two other occupants of the room, her mind playing some twisted version of “Find the Differences”.

There weren’t many.

The man was as tall as Lucifer and of the same build as her boyfriend. He had the same stubble on the exact same face, the same dark, curly hair falling over his forehead. His eyes though… His eyes were white, swirling with some sort of ethereal light that she could not begin to understand.

He was dressed in a stylish dark blue button down and black, skinny jeans to match. It looked like perfect human attire, except for the sword strapped to his belt.

“Michael.” Lucifer seethed, beyond ready to attack.

“Brother.” His twin greeted amicably, nodding.

Oh, this was getting worse at a ridiculous pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post the continuation to this either tomorrow or afterwards. I hope you liked it!
> 
> Fun fact: Apparently, Tom Ellis randomly picked the ring from props before they began filming the first episode. I dunno if this is 100% true or not, but IMAGINE. Making up theories for its significance in the show is really fun. This is one of my more sappy theories, but oh well...
> 
> As per tradition, if you ever wanna hang out on twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdQueen777?s=09  
> Or Tumblr: https://sk-kasai-my-world.tumblr.com/
> 
> Stay safe!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're doing well! Are you washing thy hands? Please be careful to do so and stay safe!
> 
> So, this prompt evolved into a 3 chapter story. The parts didn't feel right in one long document for some reason. Dividing them seemed more reasonable. Part 3 is almost finished. I'll post it soon.
> 
> I hope you like them anyways!

"Hey, come on, Michael!" Trixie grumbled, "You promised to be nice. Glaring at each other won't solve anything."

"I _am_ being nice!" Michael exclaimed, bordering on a petulant whine.

Huh. Both brothers were whiners, brilliant at doing impressions of four year olds. Good to know.

"Solving anything?" Lucifer scoffed, "There's nothing to solve. You stole _my_ ring in hopes of solving something... Seriously, now?"

"I didn't steal it." Michael protested, "I made it, so, surely, this does not count as theft? I just wanted to check our bond before doing as Beatrice suggested and confronting you. The ring is my only method of doing so, seeing as you've blocked our connection. Taking it wasn't even remotely close to theft."

"You made it for me. Gave it to me. Eons ago." Lucifer rolled his eyes, sliding the ring off his finger, "The bond you are looking for is beyond shattered at this point either wats. You can have the silly ring back if you like, Mikey."

He tossed the ring at his brother, managing to hit the center of his forehead. Michael was beyond shocked, staring at Lucifer as though the world was crumbling. He caught the ring with insane speed, his eyes fixing on on it before his fingers tightened around it.

"You do not mean that, do you?"

"Oh, I most certainly do." Lucifer declared, arms crossed over his chest, "I do not need you or your stupid, little present anymore."

"But you have been wearing it! You still wear it all the time." Michael frowned. "Beatrice told me as much."

Lucifer glared at Trixie again.

"A mistake on my part." Lucifer shrugged, "It will not happen again."

"But the fact that you still wear it every day... That has to mean something, brother." Michael persisted, "Do you not miss me?"

Lucifer gave his brother a scandalized look, eyes flashing red as he tried to tame his anger.

Michael really had a lot of nerve. Miss him... She wanted to interfere, but Chloe could feel that this, whatever it was, was something that she needed to allow to play out. She couldn't just decide for Lucifer. Her own desire to punch Michael or possibly shoot him would have to be silenced for now.

"Why in the name of everything would I ever miss _you_?" Lucifer thundered, hands shaking.

"We are brothers."

"We _were_ brothers." Lucifer corrected, "A ridiculous amount of time in the past. Brothers don't abandon their brothers."

"I did not abandon you." Michael frowned.

"Then what do you call not visiting me for millenia, huh?" Lucifer scoffed, lips wobbling and eyes near manic, "Not even a hello. You just tossed me out of my home and went on your merry way."

Okay, this was still getting worse at an alarming pace. Perhaps she could take Trixie and leave. Allow the two of the to hash out the details of... everything.

But as she looked at her boyfriend, trembling with the magnitude of an unfathomable amount of time spent under the mercy of all types of pain, Chloe knew that there was no chance of her leaving. He'd faced off the world on his own for so long... So long, in fact, that he didn't even know how to let people help him.

No more.

Chloe sighed, approaching him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She turned him towards her, enveloping him in her arms. Instead of pulling away or refusing the show of affection like she completely expected him to, Lucifer hugged her back. She could feel the tremors that wracked his body and she could hear the thunderous beating of his heart.

She wanted to say something... to reassure him... She wanted to just take his hand and drag him away, hide him from everyone and everything.

It wasn't fair.

Truth be told, she was probably overreacting, but _it wasn't fair._

He'd done absolutely nothing to deserve all of this. Chloe didn't even know much about the history between the two brothers; a relationship spanning longer than the time her species or her planet did. If she thought about it for too long, Chloe imagined that she might go insane. However, she understood pain. She understood betrayal and neglect and family ties severed so badly that they might not have existed in the first place. Those were all concepts that humanity had, and issues that psychiatry and psychology had shelves upon shelves of books about.

What could she even say?

_Come on, Lucifer, you don't own him shit?_

What could she say when none of this made sense to her? When Michael seemed to believe that they got just talk and everything would go back to normal? When Lucifer was beyond afraid and lost, angry but unsure of what to do with his anger?

He'd changed. They both did.

Chloe sighed again, her hand finding its way to his back, avoiding the old place where the scars used to brand his shoulder blades as usual.

"They hug a lot like that." She heard Trixie say, "It's adorable. They really, _really_ love each other."

Trixie... She'd meant well. Sort of. Her daughter was going to be grounded until she turned eighteen and then maybe a bit more though.

Wait a second...

"Trixie?" She asked, pulling away from her partner just a bit, "Where did you even meet Michael?"

Trixie looked guilty at least. She was leaning against the back of the couch, exchanging hushed words with Michael. Chloe found it odd that her concern for her daughter being next to the angel was not greater. He didn't feel like much of a stranger, especially when he was an exact replica of the love of her life. He was annoying and clearly ignorant of the pain he'd caused hid brother. Perhaps he was arrogant and short-sighted, calm to a degree that was irritating. However, Michael was not threatening or imposing.

Was this the same conditioning that had her so horrified of Lucifer after she finally saw his devil face?

She was going to be sick.

"School." Trixie replied.

"School?" She echoed, eye brows flying to her hair line, "An archangel was lounging around in your middle school because...?"

Trixie gulped, staring at the floor. She was the epitome of guilt and regret, her eyes flying to Lucifer every so often.

"Beatrice Espinoza-Decker." Chloe warned.

"I prayed to him!" Trixie quickly confessed, eyes wide, "It was sort of an accident. I wanted to ask him about something about Lucifer after I read our new lesson in English and I thought I'd try and nothing would happen and I could just go back to recess. But he showed up and we...talked."

She... Her daughter had summoned an archangel, _the_ archangel, to her playground. Oh, wow. Whatever happened to loop swear words and disfigured dolls? Hard as it was to believe it, Chloe found herself missing those times.

"And then?"

"Well, he just popped out of nowhere. He looked as surprised as I was and he told me that he was Michael. I thought he was Lucifer at first. I mean, duh. But then he kept saying that he was Michael, Lucifer's twin, which is awesome by the way. Why didn't you ever tell me that you had a twin brother?" She turned to Lucifer, smiling as if that would fix anything.

Lucifer's gaze remained fixed to the ground, lost in thought. He was listening, but he did not make any effort to react or participate in the conversation. Once his anger had begun to dissipate, Lucifer had deflated, looking more lost than anything else. Now that he couldn't smite his brother or something in a battle that had equal potential of destroying either LA or planet Earth, Lucifer didn't know what to do. Michael was the same, silent as he thought things over and tried to figure out his next angle.

"So?" Chloe prompted, hating the silence created by... whatever this was. Her fingers tightened around Lucifer's, somehow hoping to convey her love and support through the simple gesture. He was still pressed to her side.

"So, I told him to prove it and turn my sandwich into a chocolate cake and my orange juice into a chocolate milkshake."

"You actually did as the urchin commanded?" Lucifer snorted, finding that humorous because... 

Huh.

It was really hard to keep track of what was going on, wasn't it? Chloe had begun to think that she was getting accustomed to her boyfriend's mood swings and odd reactions to almost everything. Throw in his apparent dickhead- or not????- of a twin brother... she wasn't back to square one; she was almost certain that she was somewhere in the negatives.

"Of course he did!" Trixie grinned, encouraged by the coy smirk in Lucifer's eyes, "It was _hilarious._ Can you do cool tricks like that, Lucifer?"

Lucifer didn't respond,hardly shrugging. Trixie deflated. Did her little monkey seriously think that she was going to get away with this with no consequences? Lucifer avoiding her wasn't even the _least_ of it.

"So, um, we were way back behind the bleachers, where I went first to try. I might have, sort of, kind of... skipped class too..."

Her daughter was concerned with classes. Wow. Just how good was her mom voice getting?

"Michael and I talked a lot and... I promised to get him the ring because of some bond stuff he told me about after we had a _long_ talk about Lucifer. He just wants to be back with his brother, mommy! It's so sad! Really!"

"It is not!" Michael scoffed, mortified.

"You said so yourself!"

"I did not sound that pathetic, Beatrice." Michael explained.

"Yeah you did." Trixie crossed her arms, "It's called being sad, not _pathetic._ It's okay to be sad. You pout like Lucifer too."

"I do not pout!" Both angels exclaimed, _identical_ affronted looks on their identical faces.

Chloe... She didn't find it adorable or hilarious or anything of the sort. Nope.

These were the King of Hell and the Prince of Heaven. How were they more like toddlers instead of infinitely old legends?

This was... atrocious. Disastrous. Ridiculous. If she woke up any minute now, cuddling her devil as she always did, Chloe would not have been surprised.

Honestly though, when did her life evolve to this? Watching the two most fearsome archangels being emotionally manipulated into talking to each other after millennia of silence and bad blood by her eleven-year-old daughter. Woah.

"Look, family is important." Trixie declared, eyes pleading them to understand, "You've always said so, mommy. Lucifer is family. He has us. He'll _always_ have us. But he also has his family and... families don't just leave each other like that! Besides, they just need to talk and-"

"Talk?" Lucifer snorted, "Spawn, I assure you that this isn't a matter that can be solved by _talking._ That is, if it can be solved in the first place."

"A few punches?" Trixie suggested.

"More like a bloody celestial showdown." Lucifer informed her gravely.

"That'll help you guys talk and fix things?" Trixie wondered, hopeful.

"That'll destroy your reality, urchin." Lucifer stated. Michael gave a thoughtful nod, agreeing, a weird look on his face.

"No realities will be destroyed!" Chloe cut in. 

How could she control three children, two of whom were older than time and capable of easily destroying reality with a simple squabble?

"Of course not, Detective." Lucifer sniffed, "Not when you and the bloody urchin and so many other people I have come to lo- enjoy the presence of are in this reality... This pellock is not worth it."

Would he ever openly admit to things like love in front of others? Would he ever express such emotions to anyone who wasn't her?

Lucifer broke away from her, running a hand through his perfectly-coiffed hair. If _that_ wasn't a sign that the Detective would have to do a _lot_ of damage control once this weird fess was over and done with, she didn't know what was.

"Dad will be mad too." Michael suggested. 

"Add that to the list of reasons as to why we should do it then."

"Lucifer..."

"Michael..." Lucifer mimicked, coming to stand in front of the other angel, "Look why are you here? After all this time? Can't you just leave and allow me to be happy in relativistic peace?"

"That's exactly why I'm here!"

"To destroy my happiness?" 

"To be a part of it!" Michael explained, "I just... Everything has changed, Lucifer. You've changed. Amenadiel has changed. Rae-Rae... Everything with Uriel and just... everything has changed. I thought that-"

"You could stroll in here and I'd hug you and then we could go frolic on some cloud together?"

Michael shrugged.

"You forgave Amenadiel and Rae-Rae and-"

"That's different!" Lucifer bristled, "You... What they've done is nothing compared to what you've done."

"Can you stop acting like I'm the evil one in every scenario?" Michael growled, annoyed, "I'm just trying to apologize to you; to make things go back the way they were!"

"Oh, yes, because _I'm_ the one who ought to be the evil one in all scnenarios." Lucifer fumed, "My most sincere apologies. I'd almost forgotten."

"That's not what I meant." Michael sighed, "Stop twisting my words-"

"It is what you meant! It's what you've advocated for!" Lucifer huffed, eyes flashing red again and again, "I don't want your apology. I don't _need_ it. No one else was my twin brother; my best friend, _Michael._ No one... No one betrayed me like you did. I could have taken it from them, but not from you. Not in a billion years."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"You just saw that I'm actually happy for once in eons and you can't help the mad urge to try and ruin it?" Lucifer supplied, "What? The devil does not deserve happiness? Is that it?"

"Quite the opposite." Michael whispered, "I was... wrong. You weren't perfect, yes. What you did... but I was.. I _am_ sorry."

"Can you stop repeating that for the love of..." Lucifer growled, "You can take your ridiculous apology and shove it up your feathery arse for all I care, Michael. We're done here. I do not need you and I do not want you in my life."

"But-"

"We are done here!" Lucifer almost yelled, "Leave. _Now._ "

Michael looked like he wanted to say something or perhaps start a fight. He relented though, straightening up and nodding, gulping. In a shake of his head, a flash of black, and a sad smile, Michael vanished.

Lucifer remained in the living room, breathing heavily. He paced back and forth for a few moments before stopping abruptly and shaking his head. In the blink of an eye and a flash of white, Lucifer vanished as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any new prompts on your mind? Just let me know!
> 
> It feels incomplete without this now:  
> Come chat on twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdQueen777?s=09  
> Or Tumblr: https://sk-kasai-my-world.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a nice day!


	3. Chapter 3

_“Detective, I will be back for dinner.”_ Lucifer promised, _“Honestly now, I just need a few hours away from… everything.”_

“I’m sorry, Lucifer.” She sighed, “You didn’t deserve that.”

 _“Yes, well…”_ He faltered, swallowing convulsively, _“I shall see you in a few hours.”_

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

 _“It’s almost like you don’t know me, Detective!”_ He joked, hanging up.

With anyone else, she would’ve taken the joking as a sign that everything was not as catastrophic as she was imagining it to be. However, when it came to her boyfriend, Chloe wasn’t sure what to make of it. This was Lucifer after all; joking to deflect was among the top on his list of coping mechanisms.

She had half a mind to go see him. After all, he’d assured her that he was in the Penthouse and not somewhere else (like, uh, Vegas). She could drag Trixie and make her little monkey apologize before she would wrap up Lucifer in her arms for a much needed session of TLC despite his protests.

“I’m sorry, mommy.” Trixie sighed, sitting down next to her, chewing on her bottom lip, “I-is Lucifer okay?”

“He’ll be okay.” She assured her daughter, not wanting to worry her but not willing to let her off the hook so easily, “Why would you do something like that?”

“I didn’t know it would hurt him like this.” Trixie replied, as honest as one can get, “It’s just… Michael explained everything to me and Lucifer… He’s been so happy ever since he came back and you guys finally got together. Then there’s everything I said about family… It’s true, right?”

“You meant well.” Chloe sighed, scooting closer to her distraught daughter to wrap an arm around her skinny shoulders, “But Lucifer’s family is really...”

“Complicated?”

“You can say that again.” She snorted, shaking her head.

“He’s gonna hate me forever now, huh?”

That was, in fact, a possibility. Lucifer had been growing fond of Trixie as of late, but their relationship was still a bit rocky. Actually, she didn’t think that Lucifer had a steady, stable relationship with anyone. Not from his own eyes anyway. His bond with the little girl was beyond special, but Chloe didn't really understand it much. The fact that Lucifer would always protect her and that he would never harm her were the only constant. 

“I’ll talk to him for you.” She assured the little girl, smiling a bit at her sigh of relief, “And you’ll have to apologize too.”

“Of course!” Trixie beamed, “Thank you, mommy!” She enthused, hugging her tightly.

“Not so fast, monkey...”

Trixie sighed, but she didn’t say anything, succumbing into her fate.

  
_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

_One night, several days later…_

Lucifer huffed, working hard to remember to be quiet in this time of the night. He opened and shut cabinets, rifling through them in search of the good stuff. Why couldn’t he recall where the Detective had stashed his bottles of top shelf alcohol?

“The highest cabinet on your far, far left.” A voice pipped up from behind him.

Lucifer didn’t even turn around, fully aware who that failed attempt at conspicous whispering belonged to. He had been dead set on avoiding the urchin for as long as possible and he'd been succeeding for the last few days.

“Thank you.” He mumbled, reaching for the cabinet and finding the beautiful bottles stashed inside.

He grabbed the closest one and shut the cabinet. A sideways glance at the spawn from the corner of his eyes had him sighing in exasperation. She was dressed in a pair of fuzzy, midnight blue pyjamas that they’d bought together that one time the Detective had managed to coerce him into going clothes shopping with them. It had several constellation strewn about it, inaccurate enough to warrant him to lecture the spawn about the correct placement of the stars and about how he’d placed them randomly without a care for any of the funny shapes humans took relief in finding and naming.

The spawn looked nervous, assuring him that this was exactly what he’d feared.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” She asked.

Lucifer grunted, not responding. He didn’t want to talk to her. Evidently, she could see that too. Why couldn’t she just leave him alone?

“You know you can’t not talk to me for forever, Lucifer.” She sighed, “And I _am_ sorry. I swear.”

“You’re awfully stubborn, you know that?” He huffed, not looking at her.

“Thank you!” She beamed, giving him a toothy grin.

Bloody Hell. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

“Not a compliment.”

The problem was that he knew that he was angry at the spawn, but he had no idea what to do about it. Lucifer was clueless and borderline “insensitive” and “almost cruel” in handling the emotions of adults he didn’t even care about. The spawn… she was the one tiny human that he actually tolerated and her name was right after her mother’s, sprawled right there on his heart. He didn’t want to hurt her. How could one punish a child without hurting them? They were so… flimsy!

It wasn’t like he’d had any experience in fatherhood or any "good" role models. The closest thing that he had to that was what he learned from his books or his TV screen. Lucifer didn’t see himself as a father to the urchin of course. The very thought made him want to faint or quite possibly smash something. However, she’d taken to referring to him as her “Step-Satan” in the year that he had been dating her mother. The devil found that he didn’t hate that entirely.

“You’re thinking about this too much.” She pipped up, biting her lip.

“You’re awfully brave for a little urchin too.” He observed.

She grinned at him again, her nervousness seemingly receding every time he opened his mouth. Did she care that much about whether or not he was talking to her? Why did everything have to be so confusing?

Lucifer turned his attention to the bottle in his hands, staring between it and the little offspring. The Detective had somehow managed to convince him to minimize his drinking in front of her daughter, sighting something about bad habits and setting a good role model. She’d also added that he should be more careful drinking around her, with the whole vulnerability thing coming into play constantly once he moved in with them.

Lucifer could hardly believe that he was slowly beginning to listen to her.

He set the bottle on the table, turning towards the coffee maker. Spiked coffee was a good enough compromise, right? Especially when he could pour more than a glass of scotch into it if he desired…

“I'm sorry.” She said for the trillionth time, taking a seat at the kitchen table, staring at him with wide chocolate eyes.

Lucifer didn’t say anything, collecting whatever he needed to make coffee.

“Your brother is nice.” She tried again after a minute.

She was never going to stop annoying him, was she? 

“Sometimes.” He agreed, hating how he couldn’t bring himself to insult the feathered prick too much. He missed pretending that the bastard didn’t exist. It was much easier than whatever this was.

“I’m sorry.” She stated again after about five blissful mites of silence and urchin stares.

“Why do you care about this so much, spawn?” He huffed in annoyance, “You made a dumb mistake. Own it and move on. The whole debacle was ridiculous either ways. Why do you insist on… badgering me endlessly in this matter?”

“I don’t care about my dumb mistake, Lucifer.” She rolled her eyes, before sobering up a bit. Her shoulders hunched and she suddenly looked beyond sad, “I care about you. I don’t want you to be mad at me and… it wasn’t ridiculous! Family sticks together.”

Lucifer set the mug down, finally looking up. He regarded the spawn, arms crossed over her chest in defiance, little face scrunched up in determination, and dark eyes seemingly sparkling in the darkness as she tried to convey whatever it was on her mind to him.

“Mine doesn’t.” He whispered after a while, “I’m glad that you never had to experience such a thing, Beatrice. You deserve all the best.”

“You deserve the best too!” She insisted, jumping off her chair and launching herself at him. She was glued to his side in an instance, squeezing him tightly, beyond the point of being used to his odd mannerisms. 

“Bloody Hell.” He sighed, wrinkling his nose as he stared at her face buried in his chest.

  
She just giggled, squeezing him tighter.

“We’re your family, y’know?” She asked, looking up to meet his eyes despite how uncomfortable that made him, “Mommy and I. We’ll always be. We _love_ you, Lucifer.”

“Uh, thank you, urchin.” He faltered, not liking the tidal wave of emotions wreaking havoc on his heart, “And I you. Both of you. Always.”

“So do I say sorry again?” The urchin asked, still stubbornly holding on to him despite how he patted her head. That usually got her to release him from her dirty little paws...

“I’d prefer that you never say that again.” He snorted, “The number of time you’ve forced me to endure hearing that in the past several days...”

Yet, he never even snapped at her. He was angry. Anyone else would have gotten themselves torn apart limb from limb for a much lesser deed, yet this child… She was as special as her mother was to him. Lucifer didn’t think that he could actively yell at her or punish her.

“Mommy already gave me a punishment.” She told him, finally releasing him and stepping back, “It has a lot of details and stuff but my least favourite part is the no chocolate cake for a month one.”

“Hmmm. Well, I suppose we’ll have to find a place to hide all your ugly, horrifying dolls.” Lucifer mused, smirking.

“What?”

“Didn’t you decide to keep all your old toys under your bed the previous month?” He wondered, his smirk growing at her confused nod, “Yes, well, it is to my understanding that stashing chocolate cake underneath your bed in the farthest left corner near that horrid night stand is the best option. Unless of course you don’t want me to sneak you some of your favourite, now forbidden, delicacy?”

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. She stared at him in disbelief.

“You...”

She rushed into his arms again, whooping with joy. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that this meant that he was not too furious any more. It was as good a peace offering as any.

Lucifer had never bothered with holding too many grudges. After all, he was an immortal, and allowing such fowl emotions to fester in his chest and occupy his thoughts for millennia on an end seemed foolish, even for him. Hence, sometimes, he believed that he forgave people too easily for harming him.

A bit like he always forgave Maze, or Amenadiel, or Eve, or… Well, the Detective _was_ going to send him back to hell.

As he allowed himself to reciprocate the urchin’s hug, Lucifer began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, his ex-favourite person in creation deserved a second chance.

Just a chance. Nothing more and nothing less.

_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

  
_Almost a year later…_

Lucifer stretched, a blissful sigh escaping lips. He finished up dressing for the day; a fine three-piece, tailored, Italian suit, sapphire blue with a dark grey waistcoat underneath. He made his way to the kitchen, grinning at the site of the spawn already there setting up the ingredients for chocolate-chip pancakes. Cooking breakfast with her every single morning had become a cherished habit for both of them ever since he’d officially moved in.

He got lost in arguing with the spawn, almost failing to notice the love of his life finally succeed in joining them. Laughing, she playfully smacked the side of his head, wrapping an arm around his waist and reaching up on her toes to kiss him. She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on.

And she loved _him._

The spawn joined in on their group hug like she did every morning. Lucifer only felt minimal trepidation at the sensation of her arms, slung just a bit over waist. Actually, held there within the embrace of the two humans that he had come to love, the devil realized that he wasn’t disgusted per se.

He felt… warm. 

Warm and safe and _happy_.

Lucifer grinned, hugging both of his humans close to him.

“You’re perky this morning.” The Detective laughed, kissing his cheek, “Is it all those meetings we have with the wedding planners?” She joked.

“As if.” Lucifer scoffed.

He was dreading those actually. Lucifer was almost certain that he would just plan the whole thing. Although he never expected himself to ever embark on something as ridiculous as marriage, the devil found that he was incredibly excited. It was, after all, with the Detective. She almost managed to tame the wild panic in his chest every time he though about it.

He laughed again at the Detective’s teasing, going back to making pancakes and hearing a story about some bully the spawn had apparently punched in the face.

_***cries in Deckerstar*** _

The wedding was in a week.

The Detective was asleep and so was the urchin. Lucifer had checked. He’d had to. After all, he didn’t want either of them there to witness what he was about to do.

He locked the door behind him, stepping into the porch of their newest, spacious house. Lucifer spent some time pacing and chain-smoking before he finally found it in himself to spread out his luminous white wings and fade away from existence.

A second or so later, he re-appeared in the abandoned desert, the cold night air and the full moon putting his mind at ease. A memory of wandering around in the scalding heat, wings back, aching, and beyond lost and confused floated to the surface of his mind. He shook it away, reminding himself that everything was different now before tucking his wings away. Lucifer spent some more time passing and smoking before he finally relented and clasped his hands together.

He prayed.

Several minutes passed and his beautiful stars remained his only companions. Lucifer dropped to the soft sand, a bitter laugh slipping from his lips. He pillowed his head on his hands, leaning back as though the desert floor was the most comfortable bed ever. His dark eyes were glued to his stars, no thoughts about how his poor suit was going to suffer. It wasn’t one of his more expensive ones, but Lucifer had put on the simple black Armani because he couldn’t fathom talking to his brother in his robe and boxers.

Ha.

How stupid could he get? As if Michael would ever answer his prayer...

The stars twinkled.

Lucifer wondered what was it about them that encompassed everyone in some sort of magical spell. Poets and authors and artists… Hunters and wanders and children and lovers from every time and age… Even the angels, back then, at the beginning of time…

Everyone found beauty in them.

Some found shapes and gave them stories to match. Others found solace in lonely, mid-summer nights. Some considered them gods and some wrote books upon books of how they secretly dictated the lives of mortals. 

What was it about them?

“You’re also still broody, brother.” 

Lucifer closed his eyes, preparing himself for whatever was coming next. He took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth, exactly like the good Doctor had coached him. He couldn’t do much about the way all his muscles tensed or the way his heartbeat morphed into a boisterous drumming, reminiscent of drums calling out the soldiers to battle.

“I suppose that you might want this back then?”

Lucifer opened his eyes to see his favourite ring, glistening there in his brother’s nimble fingers. He wanted to snatch it away and put it back on instantly. As much it pained him to admit it, Lucifer had missed the stupid thing.

“Sit down.” He commnded instead.

Michael gave him a weary look before shrugging. He tucked the ring somewhere in his flowing white robe before plopping down next to him. His twin mirrored his pose and suddenly they were there, lying shoulder to shoulder on the ground, looking up at the stars as though the universe was just slowly beginning to be assimilated.

Lucifer wanted to order his brother to move away, but he found that he couldn’t. Instead, much to his never ending shame, he could hardly force himself to stay away from Michael.

"Sorry for being a bit late." his twin apologized, "Could not get away from that meeting fast enough."

"Are those still as boring as I remember them being?" Lucifer asked after a moment of silence, biting his lip.

"Even more boring than before."

“I need to give you something.” Lucifer declared after a while of silence and stargazing, “Two things. Actually.”

Michael cocked his head to the side, eyes bright and sharp. He didn’t have the time to do anything to stop Lucifer from pouncing at him though.

The punch came quicker than either of them anticipated. One moment they were there on the groundd, lying in a peaceful, albeit awkward, silence. The next, Lucifer was practically sitting on top of his brother, gracing him with one legendary punch to the nose.

“There’s this too!” Lucifer added, wagging the elegant red envelope that he had pulled from his suit pocket in front of his brother’s face.

Michael fixed him with a fiery glare. He didn’t say anything though, merely pushing Lucifer off of him and snatching the envelope from his brother’s hands.

“You have no respect for fine stationary!” Lucifer groaned, watching his brother tear through the paper.

“You… you are inviting me to your wedding?” Michael echoed in disbelief, finally managing to peel his eyes away from the invitation in his hands.

“Well, you haven’t forgotten how to read, now have you, Mikey?”

Michael rolled his eyes. “You are getting married. _You_. And to a _mortal_ woman?”

“Tread very carefully.” Lucifer snarled, his eyes flashing red.

“I wasn’t going to insult her.” Michael rolled his eyes again, "Why?"

"Because I love her." Lucifer answered immediately, a silly smile playing at his lips, "And she loves me as well, to my never-ending amazement."

“You’ve really changed, haven’t you?”

“For the best I hope.” Lucifer grinned, trying to ignore the nervousness and the anger brewing within his chest.

“Everything has changed.” Michael sighed, laying back on the ground, invite held close to his chest.

Lucifer copied his brother, assuming his previous position, eyes returning to the shining stars.

“I’ve met Amenadiel’s son.” Michael told him, “Charlie. He’s so...”

“Tiny? Sticky? Pungent? Repulsive?” Lucifer supplied.

Michael laughed, “I was going to say beautiful, you prick.”

Lucifer joined in, laughing into the night. His heart clenched at the thought of how long it has been since he heard his brother’s laughter much less laughed along with him. Actually, it was the longest that he’d ever spent with his twin in an unfathomable amount of time.

Lucifer found that he didn’t hate it. He was still trying to decide if he liked that fact or not though.

It was scary. Michael, a bit like the Detective, had this sort of power over him. Lucifer had always been afraid of the day his brother would come asking for forgiveness, knowing that he would eventually grant it to him regardless of what either of them did or said. The larger part of him had believed that this would be impossible, and so, he’d avoided thinking about the stupid prick all together for the past several thousand years.

Not that Lucifer would ever admit it, but damn, it _hurt._

“The Silver City is boring without you.” Michael sighed.

“Yes, well, I dunno who’s fault that is.” Lucifer retorted, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Michael didn’t say anything.

“So, will you come?” Lucifer cleared his throat, motioning towards the paper that his brother was still clutching.

“Does this mean that you have forgiven me?” Michael wondered, wiping the blood from his upper lip.

“Dad, no.” Lucifer laughed, “It’s… a start though.”

Michael seemed to mull this over for a bit, lips pursed and eyebrows pinched. He came to his conclusion in a few minutes, nodding to himself.

“I shall come then.” Michael announced with a big, boyish grin that had almost been wiped out of Lucifer’s memory all together.

“Splendid!” Lucifer grinned back before sobering up, “I… I mean, that is… acceptable.”

“But first,” Michael began, dramatic as ever now that the air between them seemed lighter, “there is something that I need to do.”

In the blink of an eye, he pounced on his brother much like his brother had pounced on him. One celestial punch later, and Lucifer’s nose was bleeding as well.

“You arsehole!” Lucifer roared, grabbing his brother by two fistfulls of his heavenly robe.

“You hurt me as well, Luci!” Michael defended, struggling against the devil’s hold.

“Are you going to start calling me that as well?” Lucifer groaned, wrinkling his nose.

“You refuse to be called Sammy or any derivative of it!”

“Because it is no longer my name!” Lucifer yelled, finally managing to wrestle his brother to the sand.

“Beatrice told me as much!” Michael defended, “I have been trying to respect your wishes!”

“Thank you.” Lucifer replied solemnly before he punched his brother in the eye.

It went on for a while, two of the most powerful beings in the cosmos rolling in the sand, punching and degrading each other as though they were engaged in some elementary school scuffle and not a "celestial showdown".

“Stop pulling at my hair you, imbecile!” Lucifer roared.

“Stop punching me in the face then!”

“You’re doing the same to me!” Lucifer retorted, kicking his brother in the stomach as he tried to get out of his chock hold, “And I have a wedding in about a week!”

“I’ll heal you, you idiot!” Michael panted, wincing when Lucifer managed to land an incredibly good kick, “You’re still the vainest creature of Dad’s creation!”

“And you’re still the uggliest!”

“We look the same, you moron!" Michael rolled his eyes.

Lucifer just punched him harder.

It wasn’t a pretty fight. 

By the end of it, the two of them were exhausted and spent, collapsing in a tangle of bloodied angels. They were quite the sight, bruised and bleeding.

“Do you want the ring back now?” Michael panted, tilting his head to stare at his twin.

Lucifer studied his brother’s bloodied and cut up face before nodding, almost shy.

“Yes, please.”

Michael grinned and Lucifer found it in himself to finally grin back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's that then!
> 
> I'll post the next part of the series, which ended up being "K Is for Ketchup", in a few hours. Let me know if there's any prompt that you'd like me to write. For the letters series, feel free to suggest a prompt for the letter "O" and anything after it.
> 
> Stay awesome, people!


End file.
